Democracy Now! Blog

Sanaa El Seif and Ziad Tareq are Egyptian students who are helping to publish a newspaper in defiance of laws requiring government permission. So far, the publication has focused on the voices of Tahrir Square. [includes rush transcript]

Youtube, Facebook and Twitter have become the new weapons of mass mobilization; geeks have taken on dictators; bloggers are dissidents; and social networks have become rallying forces for social justice.

While defense spending increases, with the largest Pentagon funding request since World War II, the budget calls for cutting in half a program called Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.

CAIRO–The sounds of freedom continue to ring through Cairo, twenty-four hours after Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign by the awe-inspiring resilience and courage of millions of Egyptians who poured onto the streets in unprecedented numbers for 18 continuous days. After three decades of authoritarian rule, the impossible has come to pass; the hated dictator is gone and his notorious police force has all but vanished.

As news of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation breaks, Democracy Now! broadcasts live reaction from Tahrir Square and beyond with Senior Producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Correspondent Anjali Kamat. "People are holding their hands up in victory," reports Kouddous. "This will be a day that no one will ever forget." We are also joined on the phone from Cairo by Egyptian activists Mona El Seif and Salma al-Tarzi, blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah, feminist Nawal El Saadawi, acclaimed writer Ahdaf Soueif, and Egyptian Historian Khaled Fahmy. Mohamed Abdel Dayem with the Committee to Protect Journalists, discusses the new freedom of the press. We also hear from veteran Middle East journalist Robert Fisk and Columbia professor Rashid Khalidi about what is next for Egypt.

Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat reports about 5,000 people filled with "a mixture of rage and sadness" marched from Tahrir Square to the Egyptian state television building after Pres. Hosni Mubarak’s address. "The state television building is emblematic of the power of the state against the people and the way it’s been using this power to paint the people in Tahrir in a negative light," says Kamat. Earlier in the day about 50 state television employees protested in front of the building. Last week, reporter Shahira Amin resigned her position at Nile TV, saying it "is being used as a propaganda machine." [includes rush transcript]

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down tonight, despite early reports that he would announce his resignation. Democracy Now! senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports from Tahrir Square. "The glue that holds us together is the demand for Mubarak to step down," he says. [includes rush transcript]

Tune in on Friday for a special two-hour broadcast on the uprising in Egypt. We will be streaming the program live from 8 to 10 a.m. EST. Please encourage your local radio and tv station to air both hours of the special.

Democracy Now! senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous is in Tahrir Square amid thousands of people expecting an address from President Hosni Mubarak in less than half an hour, at 9:00 p.m. local time. Renée Feltz and Amy Goodman reached him on his cell phone for an update. "If he steps down, there will be absolute jubilation here in the crowd," he says. "It will be one of the greatest moments in the country’s history." [includes rush transcript]

Renowned feminist and human rights activist Nawal El Saadawi was a political prisoner and exiled from Egypt for years. Now she has returned to Cairo and is participating in the protests in Tahrir Square. Amy Goodman reached El Saadawi on the telephone hours before Mubarak’s second address to the people of Egypt since protests began. [includes rush transcript]

Egypt’s burgeoning youth population is driving the revolution. Kareem Amer, who spent four years in prison in Egypt for his blogging, has disappeared off the streets of Cairo after leaving Tahrir Square with a friend.

On January 25, Cairo-based photojournalist Wally Nell was shot by the Egyptian police while photographing protests on the October 6 Bridge. "We were very deliberately targeted... The guy drove up, saw us, and then fired," he says. [includes rush transcript]

Renowned feminist and human rights activist Nawal El Saadawi was a political prisoner and exiled from Egypt for years. Now she has returned to Cairo and is participating in the protests in Tahrir Square. [includes rush transcript]

A stunning indictment has been handed down in Cincinnati, focusing attention again on police killings of people of color. This is a start for accountability and justice. Cleveland should pay attention. As the thousand people gathered there last weekend said clearly, “Black Lives Matter.”

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